This is an update to a post I did forever ago about flying wearing a topper – more precisely, going through metal detectors when the clips of your hairpiece are made of metal.

So many write in about this, that I figured this post was due for an update. I’ve traveled several times since this original post was published, and sometimes I breeze right through security without so much as a beep…and sometimes not.

Read the below about one particular instance I’ve had flying, and be sure to read the update towards the end. 🙂

So, what happens when you are interviewing for work out of state? A lot of air travel. With security checks and walk-thru thingies that inevitably will beep and point everyone to a flashing, neon sign that reads, “Fake hair, fake hair!”…right?

That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but to be honest, I wasn’t quite so sure what would happen. I had a feeling that my metal topper clips might just betray me.

You may recall I posted awhile back about wearing microlink extensions on my super-thin hair, back before I started wearing toppers. These I wore through airport security and since my head was covered in 40 metal beads, I did get flagged when I walked through on one of my legs of my trip.

It was one of those machines where you enter and you put your arms up and you get scanned. It showed the person of an outline and where the “problem” was, which was all around my head.

Honestly, it was not a big deal. A TSA agent (who was wearing hair herself), came over and patted my head, and I told her, “I have hair extensions in” and she said, “Girl, I know that’s right” and I went on my merry way.

But those were extensions. ANYone can wear extensions.

What I wear now is a solution to women’s hair loss.

My cure for it.

Slightly more…taboo.

Or, maybe “taboo” isn’t the best word for it, but a topper is something so few people know about.

I thought about ways I could avoid having the metal topper clips set off the detector.

For example, I considered wearing a wig on the plane – no clips, no metal, nothing to raise attention. But, I’m not 100% comfortable in wigs right now.

I could wear a big, stretchy headband and my hair in a ponytail. Eh, my ponytail is pathetic, so that option was out.

Concealers were a God-send at one point in time, but that ship has sailed.

Or sunk, depending on how you look at it.

I finally just said “screw it”, decided to wear my topper, metal clips and all, and hope for the best.

Would you believe not one alarm went off?!

I had to go through both a regular, walk-thru scanner as well and the full-on circular body-thing (does it have a name?? I’m struggling with that, here) and no so much as a blip occurred.

Now if it HAD, I already had my story in place: I would’ve just said I had extensions in, just like last time. They would have patted my head (maybe) and that would’ve been it.

But, that’s me.

If you are super-nervous about this and it comes down to an inspection, you could ask for a private screening, but in my opinion, that’s making a mountain out of a molehill.

So, that was THAT trip. I’ve flown many times since then, and have had to have my head be patted down a few times.

I know what you’re thinking: patted down??? I’ll die, Lauren, I just will.

It’s not what you think.

No alarms bells sound, or anything.

But, after going through the body scanner, something obviously flags TSA that something’s going on with my head.

The agent usually tells me something along the lines of, “I have to feel your head really quick”.

And they do.

I generally wear my hair up, like this, when I travel. Well, for normal days, too, but always when I travel.

From the front:

From the back (super messy!):

I’m not sure exactly what flags the system.

It could be my topper clips.

It could be my large, metal barrette.

The beauty of it is…if I don’t know, the security peeps probably don’t either.

Usually they just place one hand over my updo, and do one quick pat.

They aren’t searching.

They don’t ask me to remove anything.

They don’t look at me funny.

Truly…they don’t care.

Because we are one of 5,000 people they’ll see that day.

So yes, sometimes you MAY get flagged at the airport.

But it really ain’t no thang, as long as you don’t make it out to be.

If you don’t/can’t wear your hair up, you can always throw in some bobby pins, like I’ve done with this front-shot of my half up, half down style.

When you’re in a bind, you can totally combine different hair types and textures to create your look. Human hair with synthetic is what I’m talking about there.

Because, we’ve all been there, right?

You look in your (hair) closet and find you have nothing to wear.

That was me a few months ago when I was desperately searching for hair to wear to two weddings. I wanted something with volume with some wave or curl, and I just wasn’t getting that with my current pieces.

You might remember my review on Raquel Welch’s Longing for Long, which was a gorgeous, beachy-wave style.

The problem?

It was a tad shorter than I normally wear (but that wasn’t too big a deal…since I wear my hair straight every day a change to wavy would disguise that), and it wasn’t very close to my color.

The first wedding I needed it for was with a bunch of work friends, so having the color be so different wasn’t going to fly.

The second wedding I was attending was a whirlwind trip; I knew I’d have only a tiny bit of time from when my plane touched down to when I needed to be at the ceremony, so I needed something quick and easy.

And since I wasn’t planning on wearing this hair on my incoming flight OR the day after, I couldn’t have the color be off here, either. I was going to be around family 24/7.

So what’s a girl to do?

Get crafty, that’s what.

I knew I had my Jon Renau Top Wave in my everyday color, 10H16. While I love the waves, I wanted a bit more oomph.

This might not be a novel idea to anyone else, but, I literally saw a lightbulb. 🙂

There are a few obvious considerations here:

First, my topper is a thicker-feeling synthetic, whereas my extensions are fine, European-like human hair. The extensions are much closer to my bio hair (which is arguably thinner than the extensions are!), so you might think that the difference in texture would look odd.

Every day, I wear a synthetic topper with my cotton-candy-meets-old-lady-in-the-Titanic-why-did-she-drop-that-diamond-in-the-ocean bio hair.

When you look at my bio hair and the synthetic hair individually, you’d probably think there is NO WAY that they would work together.

But, they do.

So adding in some human hair extensions and combining with a synthetic topper really ain’t no thang, when you think about it.

The color of my bio hair, topper, and extensions are all different. The topper and extensions are pretty close, but my natural hair is all-one-color and a few shades darker.

Guess what?

It still works.

The process is really simple, but I thought I’d make a video to show you exactly how I worked with these pieces together. From start to finish, including curling my bio hair, it took me only 20 minutes.

(The video is about half that, though, since I cut out the parts where I left the screen to curl my hair.)

Oh, one note. As much as I silently told myself this is the Top Wave, I still managed to call it Top Secret at one point in the video. Whoops.

I mention this in the video: I definitely could’ve worn one of my Tressmerize human hair toppers (check out my review), but I only had about 30 minutes to get ready before the wedding.

So, while my Tressmerize toppers are beautiful, I needed something that was half-way done so that I could get out the door FAST. It was nice that I didn’t have to worry about curling the majority of my hair — and bonus! It rained that day so I didn’t have to worry about human hair keeping my style in the wet and humidity.

This combination worked out perfectly!

The bottom layer of my hair is my bio hair, which I curled. Then I clipped in three of my Tressmerize extensions. After that, another layer of my bio hair, which I curled. Then my Top Wave on top.

While this might sound like a crazy effort, it seriously took no time at all.

Because everything is covered by a topper, what’s underneath doesn’t have to be anywhere near perfect. You’ll see in the video how messy the back of my hair looks.

But, the overall look was pretty awesome.

Here’s another pic. I promise, no crazy filter was put on this one…it was just near sunset.

Don’t be afraid to pull a little DIY with your hair pieces, even if it involves mixing and matching different hair textures, types and colors. You might just hit on an amazing combination that you’ll fall in love with!

It’s meant to be a cautionary tale, and not meant to scare anyone off from buying online. I own probably 30 pieces of hair, and 29 of them were bought online, with zero issues.

But sometimes things happen, like they happened to me and a few other {awesome} ladies.

I need you to be aware of what “could be”, even though chances are infinitely good this is an anomaly.

Just a warning, this is extremely long – it’s definitely the longest post I’ve ever written here. Even though I’ve gone over everything so many times, I’m sure I’m still missing a detail or two. It’s impossible to have it be 100% when there are several people involved spanning almost a year, but I’ve tried my best.

Hang with me on this crazy journey and I’ll take you through it all. I have a video below that talks about the whole thing, but if you prefer to read, I’ve provided a timeline, too.

Oh, and I’m not mentioning this seller by name here. If you want more details you can email me, and I’m happy to provide it.

Ready? Here goes.

In April 2016, I decided to make a human hair purchase from someone who I’ve known for several years. She’s someone who has always been so knowledgeable and helpful in the past.

The woman I bought from owns a hair studio in Sacramento, and she’s a small set up. It may just be her, or it may be her and one other person.

I’ve never been sure, but it doesn’t really matter. Good service and a great buying experience comes in all shapes and sizes.

Check out this long (!!) video about my experience. I filmed this video before sitting down to write this blog post, so the post itself goes into a bit more detail, and is likely a smidge more accurate since I was able to do some digging/research while I wrote. Flip on closed captions if you can’t play sound:

Prefer to read? Here’s the timeline:

April 2016: I placed an order for a custom Gemtress piece. The specs were: Medium brown, 8×8 base with 4×4 silk top, with a polyurethane surround (important for me since I glue one area in particular!) and lace front with bleached knots. I gave her my debit card over the phone and she emailed me a receipt. I was quoted 8-10 weeks. The cost was $716.

June 2016: I sent a Facebook message asking if the manufacturer had an ETA. About a week later I heard from her that it did not pass quality control and “something had to be corrected”.

July 2016: She still didn’t have an ETA at early/mid-month. On July 20th, I got a Facebook message that it should be shipping out within 2 weeks.

At this point, it’s already “late”, but who’s counting? I’m not…yet.

August 2016: On August 6th, I got the notification that the Gemtress hair is in the U.S. (coming from China). On August 12th, the seller receives my hair. On August 28th, she tells me it’s going to take a bit more time to do the color to get it to match the look I’m going for.

September 2016: The hair is cut/colored and about ready to be shipped to me. I ask her if the lace front is already cut back because I was nervous about cutting it. She tells me “it’s already cut back and ready to go”. I received my package mid-month.

Late September 2016: It took me a week to open the box as I was busy. While the pics look pretty good, I was slightly unhappy with the way it was cut. Not only did the piece have longish side-bangs, but it was layered in a way that made the very bottom layer pretty thin. This could be hidden by curling, which was good…but something I noticed.

Here’s what it looked like after being wet down:

And after it’s been straightened (to the best of my ability, I need a new flatiron!) and curled:

On September 25th, I sent her a message via Facebook. The lace front that I ordered was folded lace, not a traditional lace front. The knots were not bleached. And there was not a poly rim. She explained that Gemtress recently changed management, and she had been having some issues with them. If I wanted, we could send her back for a remake, because “they are really good about that”.

I decided to do so because I really needed that poly rim (and the few other pesky issues corrected!) And because it had taken quite a bit longer than anticipated, my bio hair had grown out. Since they needed to remake the piece, I asked the seller to price out an additional few inches of human hair for me. The additional cost was $368. Actually, she said it was higher, but she was able to negotiate a deal.

It took about 3.5 weeks from the time I opened the box to talk through my options with her. I shipped the hair back to her on October 25th on my dime, and, not thinking, sent her the difference via PayPal. PayPal offers a few options to send money; I selected to send money to “friends and family”, therefore allowing the seller to avoid paying a fee. And thereby forgoing any purchase protection for me…although I didn’t think about it at the time.

Late October 2016: She confirms all my details, and the waiting game begins again. Around this time, or maybe a little before or a little after (I can’t remember), two of my friends order from this seller, at my referral.

I do want to note that all of the above was discussed via Facebook Messenger, and there was lots of idle chit-chat that I didn’t mention since it doesn’t pertain to the facts. But, the seller continued to be her friendly, personable, helpful self.

Late December 2016, very early January 2017: I mentioned above that I had two friends order from this seller as well. Both separately sent me an email to tell me that had tried reaching out to this seller, but had not heard back in several weeks.

I wasn’t too concerned since it was right after the holidays and I heard through the grapevine she had been ill. But, after hearing from each friend twice that they haven’t gotten a response from the seller on their pieces, I started to get concerned.

January 11, 2017: I sent a Facebook message to her asking if she had any updates.

January 16, 2017: Sent another message. I explained that my referrals are really nervous since they don’t know her like I do…so can she please reply and let me know what’s going on. I also sent her an email.

January 19, 2017: Sent another Facebook message.

January 23, 2017: Another message.

January 24, 2017: Some people in the hair community have heard from her, whereas others haven’t. Several people have checked in with her to make sure she was ok, and she’s responded hit-and-miss to some. I asked her via Messenger why she just didn’t put up an “out of office” email if she wasn’t going to be available. Or something to indicate she was taking some time off.

January 29, 2017: Sent an email. Posted on her Facebook business wall. Left another Facebook message. Called her place of business. Told her that I wanted a message back immediately or else I’d be putting in a claim with my bank, and advising my referrals to do the same.

I also reached out to a woman who I believe was doing color for her, to ask if she had any news about the seller.

Around this time, give or take a week, the seller removed her business on social media, and deactivated her phone number at her studio.

ALARM BELLS!!!

January 30, 2017: I put in a claim with my bank. The rules are unclear, at best, what the statute of limitations is. The rep tells me that “as long as we can see the charge on our end, you can fight it”. They can still see it, phew, so my claim is opened.

February 1, 2017: I try contacting Gemtress directly. I was hoping they’d be able to tell me if at least the piece had been ordered. The Business Consultant (that is the title in his signature) who wrote me back said that they’ve been trying to reach the seller, unsuccessfully. So, because I worked with the seller, they can’t help. But he does have a great recommendation of another place where I can buy some hair.

Really? My money is tied up with a non-responsive seller, so I’m certainly not going to purchase ANOTHER piece.

My friend also tries the same tactic, with a similar answer from the same guy.

Early February, 2017: My friend puts in her claim with her bank – she used a debit card as well.

I find out around this time that there are a few other ladies out in cyberspace who are waiting on hair from this seller.

Surprise, surprise, no one’s heard from her.

February 6th, 2017: I hear back that my claim is denied since “I placed the order”. Of course I did, I’m not denying that!

I dispute the result and the bank reopened my case.

Mid February, 2017: My other friend put in a claim with PayPal. I’m not sure exactly where her story drops off, but she beat PayPal’s time limit by a few days and they, after a few weeks, returned her money in full. Yea!!

February 16, 2017: A completely separate friend tries texting the seller to see if she can get some info on a piece for sale. LO AND BEHOLD, the seller responds immediately, trying to make a sale! Meanwhile, she hasn’t responded to 99% of people in months.

And, the kicker! She tells her it will only take 8-10 weeks! This is my screenshot of the image to show the date:

THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!!

Late February, 2017: My dispute comes back as officially denied since it’s been too long for them to do anything about it. It looks like I’m out $1100+.

Crap.

Here’s where I will diverge the story a little so you can understand both conclusions. First up, my conclusion:

Mid-March: I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m not getting my money back, but have texted the seller periodically to ask about the status of my hair. Of course, I’ve never gotten any response. Until the day I randomly get a PayPal refund notification from her, saying that she’s refunded me less a 25% restocking fee.

A restocking fee?

I’m ecstatic to get ANYTHING back, but can’t possibly understand how she gets to keep 25% of my money. It’s not like I got the hair and decided I didn’t like it so I returned it. This isn’t some tee shirt I got at Target (looooove Target), ya know? I’ve spent almost a year waiting for hair and months trying to track this lady down.

I texted her a few times about this, then eventually give up.

Late-March: I get (another random) PayPal notification that the 25% has been refunded. Why, I have no idea. But I’m thankful to have it!!

And now, my friend’s conclusion:

March-April, 2017 (friend): My friend keeps getting her claim deadline extended from the bank. She was just barely within the timeline for a claim (thank goodness), but the seller tries to delay the claim two times. The first time, she provides “proof of purchase” in the form of a receipt. Again, no one is disputing there was a transaction. This delays the bank by a bit. Then, she claims that she DID indeed send the hair out to my friend. The bank extends the deadline so that she can provide proof of this.

Which, of course, she can’t.

Late April, 2017 (friend): My friend gets word that her claim is FINALLY CLOSED. The bank had actually given her the money back when she put the claim in, under the provision that they’d take it right back if they sided with the seller. So now, it’s hers to keep. Yay!

(Dearest friend, I know you’ll read this, and I hope I got the dates correct. Going from memory on much of this!)

Early May (friend), 2017: My friend decides to write the executive team at Gemtress, telling them her story and explaining her frustration with the whole ordeal.

She gets a reply within a few days…and here’s where the story gets *really* interesting!

Check out the screenshot, it tells it better than I ever could:

How ’bout dem apples?

Apparently she went out of business late last year??! And continues to try to make sales with prospective customers while ignoring current ones?

Incredible!

I’m so glad this nearly year-long fiasco is behind me, and even more glad things turned out well for my friends.

Ladies, 99% of hair studios will NOT be like this. There are a ton more good people out there than bad. But, please protect yourselves. This definitely happens more with human hair than synthetic. Custom pieces can take awhile, but good communication is key through the process.

Here are some tips to help protect you from being scammed when you buy online:

Tip 1: Check Out Reviews

Gather as much intel as you can about other customers’ experiences. Look at their social media, Yelp, The Better Business Bureau, etc. to get a good grasp on others’ feedback. In my case, the reviews were all glowing, so this wasn’t helpful, unfortunately. I only found out later that others have had issues with this seller.

But, do it anyway.

Tip 2: Take Screenshots of Everything

Make sure you keep on file the exact specs you are ordering, as well as the timeline in which the hair was promised. Delays sometimes happen and that does NOT necessarily mean you are getting scammed. But, if you ever get an icky feeling in your gut that something’s gone awry, you’ll be happy you have all the details.

It’s also helpful to set the expectation up front on how often you prefer communication. If you feel most comfortable checking in every three weeks with the seller, just let them know from the get-go. It may be up to you to reach out at intervals that make sense for you, though – most sellers are busy!

Tip 3: Pick the Best Payment Choice, and Know the Terms

Make sure you select a method of payment that offers the most protection. PayPal provides, I believe, protection up to 180 days. My bank, it turns out, only provided protection for 60 or 90 days. For a custom product that can take months to receive, understand up front what your rights are as a consumer.

Phew! This has been incredibly long, but I wanted to get this story out there. It’s sad that this can be all part of this “hair thing”, but I do want to reiterate that getting scammed when you buy hair online is NOT the norm.

What do you think of all this?! Leave a comment below and share your thoughts; I’d love to hear them.

Oh, want to know about the other time I was scammed, but in a different way? Check out my post about Follinique Hair Growth Treatment. I’m still shaking my head at that one…

So, who am I? I’m just a gal losing her hair, who was tired of searching endlessly for information about this condition. I was desperate to connect with somebody (anybody!) who could relate. Basically…I’m just like you.
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